I let my niece get a facebook account at 15 and I have the username and password to it. She is now 17 and I still ave access to it. I check it everyday and she knows it. She has all of her friends from school and some people she met at different clubs, but anytime I see inappropriate things on her page from a friend, I de-friend them. I have a cousin that likes putting half naked men on her page and it shows to all of the family, I de-friended her from my account and my nieces account. Because there are so many people that can attach themselves to a facebook page I would say no child under 13 should be on there alone, and no parent should have a teen on facebook without them checking it constantly.

For those of you saying you monitor your children's accounts so feel all is well are not considering the fact that the damage will have already been done and posted before you are aware. It will follow them for the rest of their lives. Children so not always understand the consequences of their actions.

I'm considering letting my 12 yr.old get one to stay in touch w/ several friends who are moving out of state and going to different middle schools...However, it will be under my control and he can't 'friend' anyone he doesn't personally know.I know all his friends and thier parents, most are on my FB page, so it wont be difficult.If anyone friends him, he will not be allowed to accept, until I personally know this person.I was against it for so long, but w/ 2 of his closest friends moving away, I know it would be easier for him, plus he is very responsible and knows I will deleat it and take the computer away, if he does anything he shouldn't.

As a retired teacher and administrator who substitutes as a principal, I think this is a horrible idea!!! Can't add enough exclaimation points. During one job assignment I had to deal with six fifth grader girls (age 10 and 11) who had facebook pages and were sniping at each other. Their parents condoned their having facebook pages and were less than helpful in resolving the problems caused by their children using facebook unsupervised.

The problem is NOT Facebook. The problem is PARENTS. My son has a facebook account (he is 10 and has had it for a couple of years). I check his facebook EVERYDAY sometimes more than once a day. I allow his friends, his messages ALL go to MY Email account. His main reasons for using it is to have contact with his other family memebers. And there is NOT a day that I do not check his account. I also sit with him while he is on facebook many times. To me the the problem is NOT the internet is is the parents who do not supervise what goes on.

The kids are way to young yet to take the responsibility of having a Facebook account. I see adult make mistakes on it by saying certain abusive language not appropriate for others and who mistakenly give out too much information; such as they are on vacation, and now everyone they associate with know there house is empty. Kids are compulsive and sensitive if certain harmful words were written about them.

Our situation makes having an account for my 8 yr old grandson an option because the father isn't involved in his life but the grandma wants too. The situation is not the best and grandma is very sparadic, only 3 contacts and i Christmas gift in 4 years. So to keep this out of court I suggested that he get an account so they can freely comunicate. Grandma says my dght is preventing her attempts to bond. My grdsn also has 1/2 siblings, 5, in 3 different states that he wants to hear from. Dad blames the USArmy for not allowing him to see my grdsn. So a FB account maybe our answer. .But otherwise I have to agree with the majority and say NO WAY! But money and distance may play a small role in the sparadic communication between my grndsn/father and grandma (she's moved 8 times in the last 3 yrs alone. The dad claims USArmy sends him all over the US ...he's a recruiter!

My daughter already has an account - as long as she's my "friend" on Facebook I can keep an eye on her online activity. I think maturity is more of an issue than a specific age - my daughter at 12 is more mature than some 15 year olds I know, and I trust her to be responsible